Why the Z5 Compact is Approximately 346 Times Better Than Your Precious iPhone

Iwas an iPhone user nearly all of my university years and then some but that was down to nothing more than the fact that I just couldn’t be bothered to get used to something new. I liked the way iPhones looked and they did the job. But these days just doing the job just doesn’t cut it. I want my smartphone to function as a top range DSLR camera and I want the battery to last me more than half a day and I also want a phone that won’t slow down in 24 months.

Having dabbled in mobile phone sales and marketing for a while I knew it was time to do my research and find a phone that’s going to exceed my expectations. In August when my 24 month EE iPhone contract expired I upgraded to a HTC One M9 which I’ve been getting along with really well. The move to Android was seamless although I was hesitant in going for a HTC after some bad experiences in the past. I really wanted to move to Samsung, they’re easily the most popular Android phones and they look great too. The only issue being that the most recent handset (S6) has been manufactured without a memory card slot which gives it the ex-iPhone user seal of unapproval. The Samsung Galaxy S5 (released early 2014) does have expandable memory and is also waterproof, a feature I would love to have on a handset but the release date being well over a year before, I didn’t want to end up with a phone that feels outdated in 6 months. Spoilt? Psssh bought it myself didn’t I? Also with a 10GB 4G extra data plan it doesn’t matter what range handset I go for, the tariff will make the price in the £40 to £50 region regardless. I was drawn to the look of the M9 as well as the expandable memory and 20 megapixel camera however on reflection it actually lacks a lot of the features I wanted from a new handset. I’m less than 6 months into my contract and I’ve been eyeing up the Sony Xperia Z5’s specs over on GSM Arena.

frosted glass back

The Z5 is the first handset to have a 4K screen (Premium only) and camera (compact, standard & premium) which makes for stunning resolution and image quality. Personally, I wouldn’t notice the different between a HD Ready 720p, Full HD 1080p and 4K 4000p screen so I went for the compact. I actually found the M9 and the Samsung Galaxy handsets too big for my hands. If I’m holding it with one hand, my thumbs only extend about 70% of the way up the screen meaning I nearly drop my phone when reaching for a menu. The compact handset is around the same size as the iPhone 6 and 6s with a 4.6 inch screen. This means I can once again text with one hand, something all my other tiny handed friends are jealous of.

All the other specs for the compact edition are exactly the same except for one major factor… The battery life. Of the three different size Z5 handsets, the compact variety boasts the best battery life with a whopping 83 hour endurance rating. Compared to the average smartphone that’s almost a whole day of extra battery life. Xperia uses are always quick to boast this feature and why the hell not? The ever changing smartphone industry needs to take a leaf from Sony’s book and kit out all devices with this kind of power!

Another reason I couldn’t say no to the Z5 was that it’s waterproof. I’ve broken approximately 5 phones during my life time thanks to water damage (and another 5 down to stupidity) so when I found out the Z5 had a waterproof feature and also boasted a 23mp (4k) camera, I was beyond sold. There are so many situations in which a waterproof phone will come in handy, not only the obvious ones like using your phone in the sea but some of the less common uses such as using it in the rain or answering a call in the shower.

one button screenshots

Xperia phones also come with the capability to video screenshot, which as far as I’m aware isn’t a feature available on any other smartphone. It allows you to screenshot indefinitely in full screen either portrait or landscape. This feature is great for recording Skype calls, sharing partial clips from YouTube or Catch Up or just demonstrating something online.

Finally, the Xperia Z5, compact and premium all come with a Micro SD slot which is compatible with memory cards up to 200gb in capacity. That’s a total of 232gb of memory, enough to store approximately 154 SD movies, 8000 MP3s or 770 apps and games. Ain’t nobody gone run out of storage!